Non-volatile memory technology products such as EEPROM and FLASH are relatively cheap and commonly used in embedded systems that require data to be preserved when the power is turned off.
One disadvantage of non-volatile memory is that it is relatively slow to write to. A further disadvantage is that non-volatile memory has a limited life that is defined by the number of times a non-volatile memory location can be written to.
Due to its construction, the solid state gate cells of FLASH MEMORY or EEPROM can only tolerate a maximum number of write/erase cycles. This is typically 100,000 cycles maximum for 4 k bytes of EEPROM. This predictable failure mode is a major lifetime-limiting factor for EEPROM/FLASH MEMORY used in devices that have many write/erase cycles.
Although economical and stable devices, FLASH MEMORY and EEPROM can clearly become a risk factor and be unsuitable in applications where large amounts of data are stored, or where the data is frequently updated.
It is an object of at least preferred embodiments of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.